Gaganyaan

Preliminary studies and technological development of Gaganyaan started in 2006 under the generic name "Orbital Vehicle". The plan was to design a simple capsule with an endurance of about a week in space, a capacity of two astronauts, and a splashdown landing after re-entry. The design was finalized by March 2008 and was submitted to the Government of India for funding. The funding for the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme was sanctioned in February 2009,[18] but it fell short of full political support and obtained limited developmental funding.[18] Initially, the first uncrewed flight of the orbital vehicle was proposed to be in 2013,[19][20] then it was revised to 2016.[21] However, in April 2012 it was reported that funding problems placed the future of the project in serious doubt;[22] and in August 2013 it was announced that all crewed spaceflight efforts by India had been designated as being 'off ISRO's priority list'.[23] By early 2014 the project was reconsidered and was one of the main beneficiaries of a substantial budget increase announced in February 2014.[24] ISRO is developing the Gaganyaan orbital vehicle on the tests performed with their scaled 550 kg Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE), which was launched and recovered in January 2007.[25][26]

The latest push for the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme took place in 2017,[27] and it was accepted and formally announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15 August 2018.[28] The current design calls for a crew of three.[3] ISRO will perform four biological and two physical science experiments related to micro-gravity during the Gaganyaan mission.[29]

Gaganyaan crew module is a fully autonomous 5.3-tonne (12,000 lb) spacecraft designed to carry a 3-member crew to orbit and safely return to the Earth after a mission duration of up to seven days. [1] Its 2.9-tonne (6,400 lb)[1] service module is powered by liquid propellant engines. The crew module is mated to the service module, and together they constitute 8.2-tonne (18,000 lb) orbital module.[1] The space capsule will have life support and environmental control systems. It will be equipped with emergency mission abort and emergency escape that can be done at the first stage or second stage of the rocket burn.[41] The nose of the original version of the orbital vehicle was free for a docking mechanism, but primary entry was evidently through a side hatch secured by explosive bolts.[42]

Following two non-crewed orbital flight demonstrations of the spacecraft, a crewed Gaganyaan is slated to be launched on the GSLV Mk III launcher no earlier than 2022.[6][11][12] Though the spacecraft is designed to carry 3 people, it is likely that the first flight will carry one person only. [43]

About 16 minutes after liftoff from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota, the rocket will inject the spacecraft into an orbit 300–400 km (190–250 mi) above Earth. When ready to land, its service module and solar panels will be disposed off before reentry. The capsule would return for a parachute splashdown in the Bay of Bengal.[44] Crew module is equipped with two parachutes for redundancy, while one parachute is good enough for safe splashdown. The parachutes would reduce the speed of the crew module from over 216 m/s (710 ft/s) to under 11 m/s (36 ft/s) at splashdown.[45]

Test of water landing of CARE on 18 December 2014

Crew module test vehicle descends under parachutes on 5 July 2018 after the abort motor lifted it to an altitude of 8,200 feet (2,500 m)

On 13 February 2014, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited handed over the first boilerplate prototype of Crew Module structural assembly to ISRO for Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment (CARE).[13][50] ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre would equip the Crew Module with systems necessary for life support, navigation, guidance and control systems. ISRO undertook an uncrewed test launch of the vehicle aboard the GSLV Mk3 X1, for an experimental sub-orbital flight on 18 December 2014. The GSLV Mk3 launcher with a dummy upper cryogenic stage (filled with liquid nitrogen to simulate weight of fuel) was launched at 9:30 am from the second launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota.[51][52] The crew module separated from the rocket at an altitude of 126 km. On board motors controlled and reduced the speed of the module until an altitude of 80 km (50 mi). Thrusters were shutoff at that altitude and atmospheric drag further reduced speed of the capsule. The module heat shield was expected to experience temperature in excess of 1,600 °C (2,910 °F). Parachutes were deployed at an altitude of 15 km (9.3 mi) to slow down the module which performed a splashdown in the Bay of Bengal near Andaman and Nicobar islands.[53][54]

This flight was used to test orbital injection, separation and re-entry procedures and systems of the Crew Capsule. Also tested were the capsule separation, heat shields and aerobraking systems, deployment of parachute, retro-firing, splashdown, flotation systems and procedures to recover the Crew Capsule from the Bay of Bengal.[55][56] Inflight launch abort and parachute tests are expected to be conducted by the end of 2019.[57]

On 22 January 2020 ISRO announced Vyommitra, a female-looking robot who will accompany the other astronauts in the mission. It can detect and give out warnings if environmental changes within the cabin get uncomfortable to astronauts and change the air condition, it can also take up postures suited for launch and tasks and take commands.[59]

• Human spaceflight
• Human Space Flight Centre
• Indian Human Spaceflight Programme
• Space exploration